Robin Windsor has spent most of her life under an assumed name, running from her family’s ignominious past. She thought she’d finally found sanctuary in her rather unremarkable used bookstore just up the street from the marina in River City, Michigan. But the store is struggling and the past is hot on her heels.When she receives an eerily familiar book in the mail on the morning of her father’s … father’s scheduled execution, Robin is thrown back to the long-lost summer she met Peter Flynt, the perfect boy who ruined everything. That book–a first edition Catcher in the Rye–is soon followed by the other books she shared with Peter nearly twenty years ago, with one arriving in the mail each day. But why would Peter be making contact after all these years? And why does she have a sinking feeling that she’s about to be exposed all over again?
With evocative prose that recalls the classic novels we love, Erin Bartels pens a story that shows that words–the ones we say, the ones we read, and the ones we write–have more power than we imagine.
*****
”The Words between Us is a story to savor and share: a lyrical novel about the power of language and the search for salvation. A secondhand bookstore owner hiding from a legacy of scandal, tragedy, and heartbreak must unlock the secrets of the past to claim her happiness. I loved every sentence, every word.”–Barbara Claypole White, bestselling author of The Perfect Son and The Promise between Us
“Erin Bartels has done it again. She’s created a story that has set up camp in my mind and now feels more like a memory, something I lived, than a piece of fiction. The added benefit is that it’s a story about books, some of the best ones ever written. If you are the kind of person who finds meaning and life in the written word, then you’ll find yourself hidden among these pages.”–Shawn Smucker, author of Light from Distant Stars
“Vividly drawn and told in expertly woven dual timelines, The Words between Us is a story about a woman who has spent years trying to escape her family’s scandals and the resilience she develops along the way. Erin Bartels’s characters are a treat: complex, dynamic, and so lifelike I half expected them to climb straight out of the pages.”–Kathleen Barber, author of Are You Sleeping
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It started out great and then somewhere in the middle became very unbelievable. So many questions regarding the story line. Very bizarre.
Erin Bartels is a master of prose. Every word has meaning and a purpose. I am ready for her next book. I cannot get enough of her stories!
Very interesting story! Couldn’t guess what was going to happen next.
I was enjoying the book until about 2/3 of the way through, the story then began to be a bit too far-fetched. I thought, “ oh, what the heck, I’ll go along with it”….. I won’t spoil the story for those who might want to read it….but the abrupt ending was really disappointing…it’s like the author was tired and just stopped??….since I’d cut her some slack on “what about high school”…. at least please finish the fate of those other two family members….
I did not want this book to end. It was soooooo good!!
I thought Erin Bartels’s debut novel, We Hope for Better Things, was outstanding, but she’s surpassed herself with this one. Beautifully written and intricately plotted, this is a story that will linger in readers’ minds long after the last page is turned.
The gripping and highly original stories of Robin, both as a young teen and as an adult, kept me reading late into the night. Thoughtful and emotionally honest.
Honestly, this book is not the kind of story I usually read. When I first started reading it, I wondered if I’d finish the book. But as I kept reading, I was drawn more and more into this story and became completely invested in following Robin’s story. The author made me feel Robin’s confusion and pain as a teenager over her parents’ horrendous mistakes. I also wanted her as an adult to find peace, even if happiness didn’t seem to be a possibility. The ending to this story had a twist to it that I never would have seen coming, but the timing was perfect.
Even though this was not always easy to read because of Robin’s distress, it was well worth the time it took to finish the book. Even in the darkest of times and to the seemingly darkest of hearts, God still offers redemption and hope. I ended up loving this author’s writing style and I’ll be watching from more books by her.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.
“Life finds us, no matter how we try to push it away.”
-Robin Windsor
Erin Bartels lays out an unusual and unsettling story in her latest novel. Setting the atmosphere in a relatively run down, fading town in Michigan, the story unfolds with Robin Windsor, a teen whose parents have serious issues, being sent to live with her aging grandmother and her eccentric parrot next door to an old cemetery. The novel told in a split timeline alternates between the past leading to an explanation of how Robin Windsor got to the present.
Robin’s introduction to the town and one of the high school’s more popular students, Peter Flynt, begins in the cemetery. Their friendship starts with an exchange of novels and poetry adding a decidedly bookish theme to the novel. The first book in their give-and-take relationship is The Catcher in the Rye, setting up a recurring theme of classics.
The writing itself in this novel has a literary feel to it. The characters are complex and difficult to relate to. The themes of running and hiding, lying about the past, conquering fears, both real and imagined, and forgiveness are all relevant to the story. The book does not have a strong Christian message to it, and I feel it will probably due well in the mainstream fiction genre. Readers of literary fiction and lovers of classics and bookish novels may enjoy this story.
This copy was received from Netgalley and Revell. The above thoughts and opinions are wholly my own.
#TheWordsBetweenUs #NetGalley
The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels is timeslip novel with a present timeline and a past timeline. The story centers around books and how important they can become to readers. They might help a little girl out while she is trying to discover who she is, which is exactly what the heroine in Bartes novel does. With the help of Peter and novels, Robin Windsor finds her way in the world by clinging to her imaginary worlds and her ability to create story with her own words. As an avid reader, I could relate to Robin as she explores and understands the world through the eyes and minds of a number of readers. I wonder if Bartels actually enjoyed the novels she had Robin relate to. Most of them were required reading for high school, and I couldn’t stand majority of them. Nothing to remember later in life. The plot feels like it has been done before, even though I haven’t been sure I have read this trope before. This would make a good Hallmark movie or after school specials, if they even run those anymore. The romance is young love and how it did not come to reality. But since it is a contemporary novel, the happily-ever-after moment does occur. Overall, The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels is a delightful Hallmark style feel good movie with a nod to the love of books and the writing process. The romance isn’t that big of a story line. Fans of Courtney Walsh and Catherine West might devour this novel.
I received a complimentary copy of The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels from Revell Publishing, but the opinions stated are all my own.
Thank you to Revell and the author for an advanced copy. All opinions expressed are my own.
The Words Between Us
By: Erin Bartels
*REVIEW*
The Words Between Us is first and foremost a book about books. It’s a bookworm’s dream. There are so many references to classic literature and poetry, and I adored all of them. The main character, Robin, has had a difficult life because of her parents and their actions. Since the age of 14, she has essentially been hiding. She hides from reality inside of books, so it makes sense that 20 years later, Robin owns a bookstore. Incidents begin to happen that bring a part of her past back to her. Will she remain always stuck in the tragedy of her childhood, or will she move forward and embrace this new something in her life? This is a lyrical beautiful story that’s perfect for book lovers everywhere.
This is a fantastic read. I loved how Robin needs to learn who she is after so many years. This book goes from past to present to show how Robin and Peter have learned to grow. Robins parents did something when Robin was a teen and she has to grow up quicker. I love the whole story. I received a copy of this book from Revell for a fair and honest opinion that I gave of my own free will.
Erin Bartels has written a beautiful and delightful story in her novel The Words Between Us. This story is about a woman who is running from her past. Book devotees will absolutely love this story because it’s about a strong bond of friendship built through the reading and sharing of books. The author tells a wonderful story and does an excellent job of switching back and forth between the present and the past (remembering the teenage years). It’s about pulling apart the pieces of life and putting them back together again. This is a sweet and easy warm-fuzzy story that readers will thoroughly enjoy!
Genre: contemporary, romance, mystery, Christian
Publisher: Revell
Publication date: September 3, 2019
Number of pages: 358
A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. A review was not required and all views and opinions expressed are my own.
The Words Between Us is a wonderful read. I loved this fun and delightful story. I enjoyed getting to know Robin. I felt connection to her right from the start. She is one of those true to life characters that I can relate to.
I am giving The Words Between Us four stars. I look forward to more like this from Erin Bartels in the future. I recommend it for readers who enjoy a well written and clean read.
I received this book from the publisher. This review is 100% my own honest opinion.
Her past and present are about to collide…
You know, I really didn’t know what to expect when I picked up The Words Between Us, Erin Bartels’s second full-length novel. I hadn’t read her first release but there was just something about the blurb and the cover, with all of those lovely books on it, that seemed to draw me in.
In all honesty, I’m still digesting this book even now a day or two after finishing it. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I didn’t like it because I really did like it. There was simply so much in there because The Words Between Us is NOT a shallow story. Erin Bartels dives deep into the heart of a teenager damaged by her family’s choices and into the reclusive life her grownup self has chosen.
The book does feature something of a dual timeline showing how intertwined the heroine’s past and present are. I really liked how clearly delineated the timeline breaks were, marked by ‘Then’ and ‘Now’, which made the book a breeze to read. At the end of the book the heroine made some decisions that I felt weren’t exactly realistic but they were perfect for the story and I wouldn’t have had them any other way.
The Words Between Us is perfectly titled, it truly sums up the heart and soul of the story. Erin Bartels writes like a seasoned author, which, I really appreciated as a reader. I enjoyed this interesting book and the jaunt to the more scenic points of Michigan. If you enjoy contemporary fiction with a dash of suspense and a bit of romance this just might be the story for you…
(I received a copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are entirely my own.)
Peter reaches out to new girl in town Robin by giving her his deceased mother’s books. As repayment, she writes him a poem about the book. Robin slowly allows Peter into her heart.
How can a book lover not love a story about books bonding people? Erin Bartel’s novel The Words Between Us is filled with books–titles and authors, well-read dusty tomes and mass-market paperbacks–and conversations about books.
But, for Robin, books became an escape from the ugly truths of life, building a wall between her and the world.
“The shelf is filled with all but one of the books Peter had given me when I was a girl, each one a bottle containing some intoxicating fictitious liquor that promises to take me away from this incomprehensible chaos of real life and into a carefully plotted story.[…] Isn’t there some literary cocktail that will help me escape?”~from The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels
At once point in her young life, Robin went so far as to stop talking, further constructing a protective shell. What drove a teenager to such extremes?
Robin’s parents are both in prison and she cannot forgive them for abandoning her and cannot tolerate their crimes. Uprooted from her Amherst, MA, home to live with a grandmother in Michigan, she tries to rewrite her past with a new name and identity, lies that don’t hold up. She is chained to her parent’s legacy of notoriety.
Told in two timelines, the adult Robin watching her bookstore slide into bankruptcy and her backstory as a teenager, the novel explores themes of anger and forgiveness. There is romance and drama and friendship and threat and a reversal of everything Robin thought was true. Robin’s foil is Sarah, a large-hearted girl who carries secret guilt under her party-girl persona.
The novel is set in a fictional small town on the Saginaw River in Michigan divided by a river. There is a journey that touches on all the Great Lakes, starting at Niagara Falls and ending on the sand dunes of Grand Marias on Lake Superior. The story concludes on Isle Royale, a National Park in Lake Superior. I loved all the Michigan mentions, including the Grand Rapids Art Prize and the carousel in the Van Andel Public Museum.
I picked up on nods to Jane Austen. Robin’s imagination concocts a wild story about Peter’s father who later sends her out of his home–shades of Northanger Abbey! And there is Persuasion’s wish-fulfillment hope for second chances.
Some aspects of the plot feel improbable, but most readers will be too involved with Robin to mind. The faith talk addresses a universal truth, and the romance is chaste.
Overall, I enjoyed reading The Words Between Us. It will appeal to a wide audience of readers: those who like appealing characters struggling with difficulties, young adult fiction readers, women’s fiction, Christian fiction, and who love the current trend of bookish characters.
The Words Between us is Erin Bartels sophomore book; her first book was We Hope For Better Things.
“I know why some books live on forever while others struggle for breath, forgotten on shelves and in basements…they might have told rollicking good tales and sketched out characters who were fun to follow for four hundred pages, but they hadn’t bled. They hadn’t cut themselves open and given up a part of themselves…they hadn’t lost anything in the writing.”~from The Words Between Us by Erin Bartels
I received access to a free egalley by the publisher through NetGalley. My review is fair and unbiased.
The Words Between Us
by Erin Bartels
She thought she’d hidden from the past and her connections to her and their shame. But the truth has a way of coming out and for Robin Windsor, it keeps happening.
When she was 14 years old her life was forever changed and she lost her parents to their crimes and she reinvented herself in Michigan as Robin Dickenson. There she meets Peter Flynt and forms an unusual friendship that revolves around his late mother’s books. But their friendship is destroyed when Robin experiences another unexpected loss and words are exchanged.
Years have passed and Robin has a life that she’s content with (mostly) but when her father’s scheduled execution draws close she receives an unexpected package. And this is but the first as the books that Robin and Peter shared that one year found there way back to Robin. Wondering what this means Robin has no way to question Peter as each book comes to her from a different location.
The Words Between Us take us from the present to key moments in Robin’s life that shaped her into who she is today. This is a journey through one person’s life and how words – spoken, printed, unspoken, and written have a profound and lasting effect on one’s life. Are words reversible? Can the pain they cause be removed as easily as they were applied? Words can crush or they can build-up. They can be a window to the soul or the cloak that hides it from the world.
It is interesting to see how over the years Robin presents herself to others, all the while hiding and running from who she was. I just love the title of this book – the words between us – it offers just a hint of what is to come. Are the words divisive? healing? loving? Or just waiting on someone to take them in? I love the possibilities that it offers of hope in the face of loss. This is one book that one can easily get lost in as the story is both engaging and reflective as it offers a glimpse into what was, what is, and what could be.
This is the first work of Erin Bartels that I have experienced and experienced is the perfect word for this as reading doesn’t do this one justice. This book is a standalone title so it is a perfect intro to Erin’s work. The story doesn’t lag and has a steadily progressive motion even when we are taken into the past. The characters aren’t perfect but they have that certain something that makes you want to know them better. Would be an excellent book club selection if you are wondering what should be your next suggestion.
I was provided a complimentary copy of this book by the publisher with no expectations but that I offer my honest opinion. All thoughts expressed are my own.
The Words Between Us was a very interesting story, and one that is different than the books that I usually gravitate to. The cover drew me in and the book blurb made me want to give this novel a try.
I liked the way the book spent time in both the present and the past. And although I liked this approach and the way events slowly played out as I read, sometimes it dragged a bit for me. I still enjoyed uncovering what exactly had happened in Robin’s life.
The Words Between Us referenced classic literature, most of which I read in high school, and tied it into the story in a seamless way. In fact, this novel left me with a similar feeling as many of the stories that were referred to did when I read them.
The ending felt satisfying to me, however it was abrupt, and I honestly would have enjoyed a few more chapters to wrap things up a bit more. But, overall, this was a story that moved me. Although published as a Christian fiction story, the faith element was very subtle. This book will probably be well received in the general market.
I received a complimentary copy of this book. All opinions are my own.
As a book lover, the cover of this novel was the first thing I noticed. Then, within the pages, Robin and Peter form a friendship through shared books.
Erin Bartels latest release is a love story told over twenty years. Robin and Peter fell in love as teenagers, but assumptions and rash decisions tear them apart. The Words Between Us shifts between now (present day) and then (those teenage years), peeling back the layers of Robin’s life and what, exactly, happened between these two.
The supporting characters are varied—some lifting Robin up, encouraging her to move forward and one, in particular, dragging her down in the past.
Robin has a lot of emotional baggage she carries with her, mostly around her parents and their choices. Too often she runs or hides from dealing with it, which does get a little annoying by the end of the books. And while there is a satisfying conclusion to the story, there are some unanswered questions as to whether Robin is going to find her way to grace and forgiveness.
Disclosure statement:
I receive complimentary books from publishers, publicists, and/or authors, including NetGalley. I am not required to write positive reviews. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
This is such a special story and perhaps the title tells it all….the words between us can’t express just how much I enjoyed it. Erin Bartels has been able to capture the feelings of Robin Windsor as both the young girl hiding from the shame of a father convicted of a horrible crime and as the young woman who has tried to create an adult life based on anonymity. Robin was just a young teen when her father’s crime was discovered and she was sent to live with her grandmother, but she had to pretend that they were distantly related. Her fear of being discovered left Robin avoiding people and she found solace in her love of books and the power of words. She did experience friendship with Peter, a neighbor boy, and eventually confided in him but their friendship was shattered when she believed that he had told her secret. Now, the adult Robin continues to find comfort in books and her bookstore until she discovers that there was more to her father’s crime and her mother’s involvement. Seeking to unravel the mystery surrounding it and to discover who is sending her books through the mail, Robin is forced to rethink her past and her present.
The Words Between Us is told alternately as “Then’ and ‘Now’ and it is evident that Robin carries so much of her ‘Then’ into ‘Now’; children often carry the stigma associated with the actions of their parents. Some readers may think this is a sad story but I found it to be uplifting because in the end, it is a testament to the power of love and the resilience of the human spirit.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher but I am voluntarily sharing this review. These are my own thoughts.